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Archives for April 2014

What do 90% of men and 65% of women do on a regular basis but never admit to?

It’s masturbation! How is it that something so normal and natural has become socially stigmatized? Our guess is religion has something to do with it! You can be sure as soon as Eve found the apple, Adam found his penis. Masturbation has been found depicted in prehistoric cave paintings. In Malta, a cave figure depicting a woman masturbating dates from 4 B.C. Indians described it in the Kama Sutra. Ancient Egyptians believed the god Atum created the universe by masturbating to ejaculation, and the ebb and flow of the Nile was attributed to the frequency of his ejaculations. Egyptian Pharaohs were therefore required to masturbate ceremonially into the Nile. Even as late as the 17th century nannies encouraged their male charges to masturbate before going to bed.

When did it all go wrong? In 1716 the first “blog” or pamphlet entitled “Onania, or the Heinous Sin of Self-Pollution, and All Its Frightful Consequences, in Both Sexes, Considered: With Spiritual and Physical Advice to Those Who Have Already Injured Themselves by This Abominable Practice” was published and distributed in London. It offered letters and testimonials from men who allegedly were falling ill and dying from the effects of compulsive masturbation. The pamphlet was so wildly popular, it was published over 60 times in several different languages. It quickly spread to the New World where New Haven, Connecticut made masturbators eligible for the death penalty. By the end of the 20th century, children were discouraged from masturbating by the use of bandaging or tying of their hands and genitals, covering their genitals with cages, sewing the foreskin shut, and electrical shock. Girls were encouraged to have their clitoris removed to prevent them from masturbating.

It wasn’t until Dr. Alfred Kinsey in the 1940s and 50s began researching and studying masturbation that it began to loose some of its social stigma. The Kinsey Report published in 1948 found that masturbation was an instinctive behavior for both men and women. By the 1980s parents were being told by their pediatricians that masturbation was normal and healthy. However, it wasn’t until 1994 that the masturbation debate became front page news. That was the year the surgeon general of the United States, Dr. Joycelyn Elders, was forced to resign when she mentioned as an aside that masturbation should be included in school curriculum as a safe and healthy practice. By the way, the president who forced her to resign was none other than Chief Wanker, Bill Clinton!

Dr. Elders’ forced resignation set off a firestorm in the gay community, among others. As a direct protest to the resignation, Sexologist Carol Queen, with the help of San Francisco based sex store Good Vibrations, helped organize National Masturbation Day in 1995. Their purpose was to protest against a culture which viewed masturbation negatively and deliberately excluded it from the formal education system. It quickly extended to Masturbation Week and now the entire month of May is devoted to this activity. There is now even a Masturbate-a-thon in which participants masturbate to raise money for charities while dispelling social taboos. Philly has its own Masturbate-a-thon although it continues to be a source of outrage for the more conservative establishment. Politcal Outcast Magazine actually declared Philly’s masturbate-a-thon to be the death of our nation!

In honor of Masturbation Month, Fantasy Gifts is offering a free lubricant with the purchase of any masturbator. Whether its a disposable masturbator, the Fleshlight, Fantasy Gifts has something for every body to celebrate Masturbation Month!

Did you know National Lingerie Day is April 24th? Don’t worry if you didn’t, most people are not aware of this “holiday.” Which made us wonder? Is National Lingerie Day a real holiday or just a made-up event?

To start, there actually is a difference between National Days and Awareness Days. Awareness Days are usually health related and seek to raise awareness of various illnesses and diseases. National Days are usually staged by commercial organizations to promote their products and services. But who decides what day is a national day? Does it require an act of Congress or can any entity just deem it “National Blow-Job and a Steak Day” (March 14 – really!).

Apparently anyone can apply to the United Nations or their government to have their day formalized. Unless the day is racist, sexist or otherwise hateful, it’s generally accepted. There’s even a website where you can apply to have your day formalized by answering four simple questions and paying $300.00.

The origin of National Lingerie Day is apparently the brainchild of the Intimate Apparel Council. This industry group is made up of U.S. designers, brands and retailers. Apparently in April 1989 they began promoting National Lingerie Week to “reaffirm the message that intimate apparel is fashion.” They wanted a week-long celebration of in-store promotions, unique prices and fit clinics. Frederick’s of Hollywood then picked up the torch and began promoting it as a special day in their stores and on their website.

What’t interesting to us at Fantasy Gifts is why more lingerie stores are not promoting this event. The Intimate Apparel Council does not even mention it on their website anymore. The top three lingerie retailers – Victoria’s Secret, Wal-mart and J.C. Penney – are not even mentioning this day. And even Frederick’s of Hollywood, who started the craze, appears to not be celebrating it this year.

According to Business Insider, the intimate apparel industry is a $29 billion global market. The United States represents 30% of the global market and 20% of total apparel sales. This is an National Day tailor-made to the intimate apparel industry and everyone is just ignoring it!

Well, not us! Come to any Fantasy Gifts store in South Jersey on April 24th and celebrate National Lingerie Day by picking out a free $5.95 panty with any lingerie purchase. And let’s get National Lingerie Day celebrated right up there with National Hairball Awareness Day – that’s April 26th!